posted January 12, 2007 08:18 PM              

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(GettyImages) Iraqi woman mourns the death of one of her relatives in Baghdad

This is a letter written by an old Iraqi woman to President Bush that was posted on the Arabic Iraqi paper Kitabat, and translated by Mutasem Sinnokrot

Greetings:

“Good morning my son Bush and a Happy New Year to you and all the people in Uncle Sam's land. My son, I am an old Iraqi lady that is not interested in politics and was planning to keep silent, but as they say "things have gone too far" in Iraq. I have begun to doubt everything you say at your press conferences. There is something very strange; every time you appear smiling and laughing on TV, you begin talking with optimism about the future of Iraq. Whenever I hear you, I also start to laugh and smile, because I believe everything you say, since you are the leader of the greatest nation on Earth and have no reason to lie for fear of anyone!

“But as the days pass, I have begun to feel that your words are in stark contrast to the desperate situation we are living through. You speak out and say that Iraq is headed toward democracy and stability, but in reality we sit at home terrified to even cross the street. You say that Iraq will prosper in democracy and justice while in reality no one can voice his opinion without being subject to harm or even death.

“Dear young Mr. Bush: I see that the satellite dish on top of the "White House" is old, malfunctioning, and in need of repair to relay truly "unbiased" news to you. You should double-check that the news you are receiving is accurate before you go on TV to speak, because most of what you say is incorrect … It's a shame to do this in front of the entire world; aren't you the leader of the greatest superpower, young man!!

“All that you have done to Iraq is one thing, but what you did to Saddam on the dawn of Eid Al-Adha is another. I have no idea why you were in such a hurry [to execute Saddam]. You ruined the joy of Eid and caused worldwide outrage. We already faced hardship and [by executing Saddam] you made it worse. I swear to God that we were in no hurry to see Saddam die nor are we in a rush to see this democracy of yours. All we want is to live like everyone else in this world (including you and your aides) and celebrate the New Year by a Christmas tree. We want you, Mr. President, to help Iraq and provide us with electricity so we can smile again, and provide security for us and our children so that we can cross safely into the New Year, rather than live in prehistoric conditions that you are forcing us to do now.

posted January 13, 2007 03:26 PM              

Secondly, this is so sad and terrifying to me that i can't cry. Life is so precious and she is writing such an accurate account of human suffering and toiling in iraq, that it is definitely a divine service to her relatives and people. But at the same time, while she is doing what is right, Pres Bush including his advisers would probably ignore and snarl at this precious message, and at the same time subconciously make things worse and more chaotic, and continue on the path of doing what is wrong.

Such terrible, terrible, wrong times we live in.

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Virgo Rising 8'57, Sagittarius Sun/4thH 3'26, Pisces Moon/6thH 8'22

"Our passions are not too strong, they are too weak. We are far too easily pleased." - C.S. Lewis